Behind Those Eyes
by Arlena4815162342
Summary: Seth Baxter killed Mark Hoffman's sister, because she forbade him from seeing their newborn daughter. After her death, Mark took his niece in. The older Leah Hoffman gets, the quicker she learns her uncle's deepest darkest secret: how he tests people by playing a game... AU.
1. Not Worth What He Gives Away

**Behind Those Eyes**

I do not own the Saw series. AU alert**.**

_"There's something I can't see. There's something different in the way you smile. Behind those eyes, you lie. And there's nothing I can say, 'cause I'm never gonna change your mind. Behind those eyes, you hide." ~3 Doors Down_

**x****x****x**

He desperately shouted "what the fuck", several times before the TV flashed on.

_"Hello Seth. I wanna play a game."_

The man covered in tattoos stared at the odd looking doll on the monitor.

_"Right now you're feeling helpless,_" The doll continued.

_"This is the same helplessness you've bestowed onto others. But now, it's onto you. Some call this karma; I call it justice. You served five years for what should have been a life sentence, for murder. A technicality ensured your freedom but it didn't give you the understanding the impact of taking a life..." _he...it...explained.

Freaking out, Seth attempted to take the collar holding his neck down off.

Nothing happened.

_"In thirty seconds the pendulum will drop far enough to touch your body."_ the doll announced.

Seth's blue eyes looked up towards the pendulum, then at the clock.

_"In sixty seconds the pendulum will cut you in half." _he added._  
_

Seth gripped the collar pinning his head down.

_"To avoid the pendulum all you have to do is destroy the things that have killed—your hands. You must insert your hands, and push the buttons on the devices before you. Your bones will be crushed to dust."_

Easier said then done...

_"Will you destroy the things that have taken life, in order to save one? And allow yourself to see your daughter's face again?"_

A picture of a five year old girl with Seth's eyes and dark brown hair, sitting on a swing with a smile on her face flashed on the screen before returning back to the doll.

Seth stared. That was...! _His_ baby _girl!_ Hell she looked just like him...those blue eyes.

He hadn't been allowed to see her...hardly as a baby. Angelina kept her from him...but he'd made sure he got to see his little baby again.

Even if he had to kill her...which...he did. He took his baby and attempted to go far, far away...but he'd been caught.

And his little girl was taken from him.

_"Make your choice."_ the doll concluded.

The clock was ticking.

* * *

_**Five years earlier**_

_"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE! NO! NOOO!"_

_Mark Hoffman knelt down to the body of his dead sister, Angelina. She lay on the bed, her head dropping upside down at her crushed brother. He took her lifeless hand, placing his mouth on her palm, unable to keep the tears from falling.  
_

_"Copy that." a cop went over to Mark. "Sir, we got Leah Baxter's location."_

_"...w-who?" Mark asked.  
_

_"Your niece."_

_Mark looked up, "I don't have a niece." he stated._

_"Sir, we have all the birth records stating that she is your sister's daughter." the cop explained._

_Mark looked down to his deceased sister. And he knew—_

_When she said she was going out of town for a few months..._

_"Fuck...why didn't you tell me, Angie?" he asked, sounding deprived._

_He began to cry again._

_**Five years later**_

"Typical bio-murder-convict. Served five years, just released last month." Fisk explained.

"...I know him," Mark said. "His name's Seth Baxter...my sister's ex-boyfriend." he explained.

Fisk looked _incredulous_. "This is the guy who murdered your sister...your niece's dad?" he realized.

Mark nodded. "He was sentenced to twenty-five years, got reduced from a technicality." Mark told him.

Fisk was nodding too, "Well then I'd say justice was served." he decided.

Mark looked down at Seth's body with disgust.

_**Five years ago**_

_Mark stared down at the baby._

_Little Leah stared up at her uncle, meeting him for the first time in her new life. Her eyes were the most beautiful of blue, just like her father's, which would have made Mark sick. But his eyes were blue too, and though the baby inherited Seth's features, her eyes were shaped like Mark's, which made him smile instead._

_"You'll take her then?"_

_Mark looked up, "Of course I will. She's my niece." he stated. _

_He'd had her name changed; from Leah Baxter to Leah Hoffman. The little angel deserved much better than to carry on that fucker's name.  
_

_Mark took the baby into his arms, and softly cried again, over the loss of his sister._

_He wasn't sure how he could raise a child without it's mother._


	2. I Know Who You Are

"Fisk. You keep me posted." Mark said seriously, some time after the Seth Baxter murder.

That _he_ committed.

"...alright." Fisk agreed.

"Good." Mark said.

He entered his office, sat down, and fumbled with some papers.

Mark looked up, and around the room. Then at the clock.

School was out in ten minutes; he had to go pick up Leah.

He exited his office, and left the building.

...

...

...

Shit. He'd gotten there too late.

He pulled up, and saw his niece sat on the curb- though he'd told her never to do that.

_"A stranger could come up and snatch you away."_ he'd explained.

She giggled, _"But you would find me and beat them up right?" _she asked._  
_

_"You know I would._" he agreed.

But to his dismay, the five year old smiled at him and jumped up and ran towards the back door of the car.

"Wait. Because I'm late, you can ride in the front today." Mark told her.

"Yay!" Leah squealed, stepping over to the passenger door, and getting in. Mark helped shut the door, and held down his hand to help with her seat belt.

"No, no. I can do it by myself, Uncle Mark." Leah chimed, attaching the belt to the buckle.

"Wow...good job." Mark praised, ruffling her dark brown hair, "You're growing up too fast kid."

Leah giggled, and then frowned, "I don't want to go to the _babysitters_, Uncle Mark." she said.

"I know you don't. How bout we go home instead?" he offered.

Leah's blue eyes widened, "Yeah, yeah!" she agreed.

* * *

Walking inside of the apartment lobby, Leah ran over to their mailbox, and peered in it, taking out mail.

"Just junk." she sighed, placing it down on a pile of junk mail from others' mailboxes.

Mark heard the elevator ding, but no one was present. He walked over just as a teenager girl with large headphones on bumped into him.

Leah watched her walk past, and outside, then she went up and followed her uncle to the elevator. After she offered to push the button, they both heard distant cries.

_"Stop it! Stop it now!"_

Mark pulled out his gun.

"What was that?" Leah asked.

"Stay here. Don't move." Mark instructed, heading for the noises.

"Uncle Mark-?" Leah gasped.

"Don't _move_." he said again.

Leah did as told, her hand pressed against the closed elevator door.

_"Stop it!"_

When Mark reached the door, he aimed his gun, just as a large African-American woman with a German Shepherd came busting out.

"Stop it!" she yelled at the dog, as Mark jumped back in shock. "Don't provoke him! _Ass_hole! Come on Peewee! Come on! Come on Peewee!" she dragged the dog away.

They went past Leah. The dog snapped at her, making her whimper and hold her arms close together.

"Shit..." Mark said, putting his gun away and returning to the elevator.

The doors opened, and a mean looking woman stopped him. "Do you mind?" she sneered, going past him.

Leah hid behind Mark, already afraid of the mean looking lady...

The men exiting behind her shook their heads at Mark and Leah, then walked away.

Only one guy remained in the back; an old man with white hair, and glasses.

_He had an odd look on his face..._

Mark and Leah got on. "Going up?" Mark asked.

"Yes." the man said.

Leah decided he didn't appear to be scary, "Hi." she greeted quietly.

He managed a smile, "Hello."

Leah smiled back, and faced forward, etching up her small Barbie backpack.

As the elevator went up, Mark noticed that only the button to his floor was pushed. He glanced down, noticing the man was holding something in his hand.

"What floor are you going to-?" he pulled out his gun, but the man pinned him and injected a needle into his neck.

"I think we're going to the same _place_." the man said.

Leah had screamed, and everything went black.


	3. Killing Is Distasteful

When Leah had awoken, her body felt stiff and immobilized.

Her body wasn't planning to move anytime soon.

Her blue eyes opening, she heard loud voices- one her uncle's and another unfamiliar.

Then she knew, the old man from the elevator.

She tried to speak, but her mouth wasn't going to function either.

All she could do was listen.

_"Our game? You don't even know me." _she heard her uncle._  
_

_"...I know you. I followed you as you pursued me. I know about your sister, I know how you cared about her. I know she was your only family."_

Uncle Mark's sister...her mother. Leah had seen her picture. She died when she was a little baby. Leah was never told how she was killed...or why._  
_

_ "You sit in bars until closing, drinking so you can sleep. When you could be at home, putting your niece to bed, telling her not to be afraid of the dark, that there are no monsters in the closet." _the old man continued._  
_

_"Where is she? What the fuck did you do to her?"_ Mark demanded.

Leah wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, to let him know she was _there_, and _okay_, though she couldn't move.

The man ignored the question, _"And then I discovered what you do for recreation...hm. You can bring justice, and make people value their lives at the same time. And by the way...the blade on your pendulum was inferior."_

Leah heard the man walk over and take something out, but she couldn't see.

_"You in this for the long haul detective?"_

_"I've been a cop for twenty years, is that good enough for you?"_

_"Then you and I both know the statistics for repeat offenders in this city."_

_"What do you want from me-?"_ Leah shivered at her uncle's rise of tone.

_"You might want to think of what you did to Seth as a kind of public service?"_

Seth-? Seth. Why did that name sound familiar? The little girl couldn't place it.

_"She was my only family. He didn't deserve a chance; he was an animal-!"_

_"EVERYBODY deserves a chance!"_ the man declared.

_"YOU DIDN'T SEE THE BLOOD! YOU DIDN'T SEE WHAT HE FUCKING DID TO HER!"_ Mark screamed with fury.

_"KILLING IS DISTASTEFUL...! To me. There is a better, more efficient way."_ the man sat down and put his fingers on the trigger of the shot gun. _"What do you see? LOOK! What do you see?"_

_"Tell me what you want!"_

_"...I wanna know if you have what it takes to survive."_

Mark grimaced, moving his head forwards to the gun.

John Kramer pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

_"Agh. Oh...fuck you. Fuck you..."_

Leah felt herself wanting to sleep again, she tried to fight it.

The last thing she heard was the older man saying the word 'rehabilitated'.

* * *

When her eyes opened, she was sat up in her bed. It was night now, the moon shining through her window.

Mark was sat on the edge of her bed, "You okay?" he asked quietly.

"Uh-huh..." Leah looked around. "Where did he go?"

"Who?"

"The old man you was yelling at."

"...what old man?" Mark lied.

"We was in the elevator and he stabbed you! Did you beat him up?"

Mark chuckled, "I think you had a bad dream sweetie."

Leah blinked, "A dream?"

"I think so. I remember and old man from the elevator, but I don't remember beating him up." Mark teased. He rose from her bed, "Try and get some sleep, okay?" he asked, pulling the pink covers closer to Leah's little body.

She nodded as he tousled her head, "Goodnight Uncle Mark."

"Goodnight." he went for the door and started to close it.

"Uncle Mark?"

"Yeah?"

"Who's Seth?" Leah asked with innocence.

Mark stiffened with anger, "Someone you never have to worry about." he explained.

Seeing how mad he was, she nodded and hid under her covers.

* * *

School had gotten out early.

Mark was sat in his office when his phone had rang. "Hoffman." he answered.

_"Good morning Mr. Hoffman..."_ he recognized her as the principal of Leah's school.

There had been a hit-and-run yesterday, taking the life of a young boy named Dylan Denlon. To honor the little boy, they released the students from the school early.

Mark got permission to leave, and left to go pick up Leah. When arriving, he helped her into the car, where she had been crying up a river.

"Dylan g-got hit by a car." she sobbed. "His mommy's a doctor but she didn't save him! He d-died!"

Mark was unsure of what to say. He only knew that John had been babbling about it...

Which would lead to another game.

* * *

**N'aww...feel bad for Jeff & Lynn right now :'( **


	4. Look Closely, Detective

She was sat on the floor, watching the news, arms wrapped around her legs.

Mark exited his bedroom, just woken up. "You're up early." he said groggily, going into the kitchen.

The eight-year old didn't look at him, her blue eyes still glued to the TV. "I don't wanna go to the babysitters today Uncle Mark." she finally said.

Mark turned the coffee pot on, "Why not?" he asked.

"Jigsaw could _get_ me."

He stopped, "What did you just say?" he asked seriously.

"He kills people! They always show the dead people on the news." she exclaimed. "He can take me if he wants to. I don't wanna die!" she broke out into tears.

Immediately Mark went down to her. "Jigsaw wouldn't take you Leah. He doesn't take kids." he told her, not adding about young Daniel Matthews. "He only takes bad people." he decided. "Bad people who escaped justice. Who take their lives for granted." he explained.

Leah looked up at him, "Are you sure?" she said with sniffles.

"Yes. Jigsaw won't get you. I won't let him."

She managed a smile, "You'll beat him up if he does right?"

"You know I will." Mark assured. "Don't take your life for granted, Leah. Appreciate it." he declared.

Leah nodded, eyes wide. "Okay."

"Tell you what," Mark said. "You can come to work with me today."

"Really?" Leah had a glimmer of hope.

"Hell yeah. Go get dressed kid." Mark pat her shoulder.

* * *

Arriving at the station, the uncle and niece were plodding down the hallway to Mark's office when Leah heard a woman say loudly in one of the offices:

_"When did you stop being a cop?"_

Leah watched a curly haired woman walk out angrily past them. Leah looked in the office to see a man with a solemn expression on his face.

Angry, yet...sad...

"Hoffman. Why'd you bring her here?"

Leah turned to see an African-American man staring at them.

"Because I _can_, Officer Rigg." Mark said.

"What if you get called out? You can't bring her with you." Rigg questioned.

"Yes I can." Mark said. "It's called staying in the fucking car. Excuse me." Mark walked past him, and Leah ran to catch up.

She shared a last look with Rigg before looking back forwards.

* * *

_**Six months later**_

The man with the solemn face, angry yet sad, who Leah learned was Detective Matthews had gone missing right after they found the Jigsaw killer.

They'd shown his face all over the news, and Leah couldn't understand why the old man with white hair looked sooo familiar.

Also shown on the news was another victim of the old man's killings, a big guy named Troy. Even though the victims of Jigsaw were 'bad' as her uncle had put it, Leah still felt bad for those who died under the old man's ways.

It wasn't right.

The other little kids around Leah were watching the TV too- until the babysitter came up and announced dinner.

The flock of kids scrambled over to the large kitchen table, where a large pot of chili sat in the middle. After everyone had gotten a bowlful, the young ones began to chow.

"Are yu' spending the night?" little Katie asked.

Leah nodded, "My uncle said he had to stay late at his work tonight." she explained.

When that really wasn't the case at all.

* * *

**Gideon Meat Packing**

"So when's your test, Detective?" Amanda Young asked.

"I don't need one." Mark told her.

"Oh yeah?" Amanda doubted.

"Yeah." Mark lifted up Amanda's arm. "Because _I_ don't take my life for granted."

"You're still dragging your knuckles on the ground. What do you know about life?" Amanda managed to laugh. "Get used to me, because I'm not going _anywhere_." she said.

Mark leaned down into her ear, "You sure about that?" he asked, before walking off.

"...Time is short." John finally said.

Amanda knelt down to him, "You okay?" she asked.

John nodded, "It's time to go get Dr. Denlon from the hospital." he said.

"Okay, I'll take you back." Amanda prepped to wheel him.

Hoffman prepped the latches of the trap that he was about to strap Timothy Young onto, and then bent down to hoist the man up.

It was soon time.

* * *

Instead of sleeping, all the kids had instead hid themselves under a large blanket with a flashlight, telling scary stories.

As Raegyn was telling one about a werewolf, Leah crept out from under the blanket, and peered out of the bedroom into the living room.

The babysitter was fast asleep on the couch.

Smiling, Leah closed the door to the bedroom they were all in. "Turn the TV on." she said.

"She' sleeping?" Mary asked quickly.

Leah nodded, and Raegyn turned on the little TV on the floor. She pushed on the channel buttons until she found the news.

"What are you looking for?" Katie asked.

"To see if they show more Jigsaw." Leah explained, "They said during dinner that a doctor went missing." she added.

"Oooh." some kids murmured.

"Jigsaw took the doctor?" Raegyn asked.

"I don't know. I hope not." Leah said.

The children grew silent as the news went on.


	5. Honorary Promotion

The next morning, during the morning news, Raegyn recognized the man on the screen.

"Leah! Is that your uncle?"

The eight-year old scrambled over to see Mark exiting a large building, carrying a girl who looked scared out of her mind. "Where's my mom? Where's my dad?" she asked.

_"Last night a bloodbath was discovered. Several victims of this scene include Officer Daniel Rigg, Detective Eric Matthews, a lawyer, Art Blank, a doctor, Lynn Denlon and her husband, Jeff Denlon, and one that should put this town to peace- John Kramer, the Jigsaw killer."_

Several gasps filled the room- even the babysitter peered her head over. "Bastard's finally dead?"

_"Other victims have been found dead, including Timothy Young..."_ a few more names were mentioned. _"Only two have survived this massacre; Special Agent Peter Strahm, and Detective Mark Hoffman, who found Corbett Denlon in a cell of the meat-packing warehouse."_

"Oh no." Leah said. "That's Dylan's family."

"Who?" Raegyn asked.

"Dylan, remember when he got hit by a car?" Leah explained.

Several murmurs came from the kids.

* * *

_"Uncle Mark!"_

Leah had took hold of his hand like it was the end of the world. After he'd came to get her, he drove them to Homicide. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I saw you on the news. You almost died!" Leah exclaimed.

Mark scoffed, "You need to stop watching that garbage."

"It's not garbage if you're on it." Leah told him.

"I guess...guess what though? I got promoted." Mark chimed.

"To what?" Leah asked.

* * *

"Thank you all for coming. I'd like to be the first to say, that the Jigsaw murders are over."

Everyone clapped, except Leah. She felt really, really small, in a room full of cops. There was another lady though- who was blond haired with glasses, writing in a notepad.

"The officers who gave their lives are being honored here today."

Leah saw two pictures she didn't recognize- David Tapp and Steven Sing.

"But today I'd like to give a special honor to the detective who's been on this case right from the beginning, who proved through hard work and dedication that the people who died, didn't die in vain. Today we honor the newly promoted, Detective Lieutenant, Mark Hoffman."

Leah clapped this time as he rose, and went to the front, accepted an award, a handshake, and several flashes of cameras.

"Uh, thank you. Thank you very much." Mark spoke. As he spoke, Leah glanced at the other pictures of the deceased officers. The curly haired lady, Allison Kerry; the man who Leah remembered with the solemn face, Eric Matthews, and Daniel Rigg, from the hallway confrontation six months back.

After the ceremony, Mark entered his office followed by Leah, glad to be here instead of the babysitters, where she spotted a picture of her mother on the shelf behind his desk.

Mark glanced at the photo, and then looked across towards his billboard as Leah took the frame.

Staring at Angelina's picture, Leah reminisced when Mark told her all the good things about her mom.

But, not once did he ever mention her father. All she knew was that he was dead too.

Mark saw the envelope on his desk. Opening it, was a slip of paper that said 'I know who you are', in big letters.

"Stay here Leah." he instructed, putting the envelope in his coat.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To get something." he said, leaving the office, closing the door behind him.

Leah plopped on the chair behind the desk, and laid the photo down. "Hi mom." she said out loud. "Sorry I haven't talked in a long time. Uncle Mark doesn't let me come here a lot anymore." she admitted, swinging her legs.

"But guess what? He got promoted today! He's a uh...uh...I forgot. It starts with an L. It's better than a detective, I think. When they gave him his award, I didn't like sitting in the back, because everyone else was _sooo_ big and tall. Am I gunna get big and tall like Uncle Mark? I hope so. I don't like being small." she took in a breath of air.

"Were you big and tall mom? Or were you short? Maybe I'm small because you were small? Or...was my dad small? Or was he big? Uncle Mark never tells me anything, so I don't know. I don't wanna ask him though, he always gets mad about it." she said sadly.

By then Mark had returned, and was standing outside of his office, listening with disbelief.


	6. No Games

"Where are we going, Uncle Mark?" Leah asked.

"To the hospital. An agent I knew died." he answered.

"Who?" she asked.

"Her name was Lindsey." he told her.

"Was it Jigsaw?" she asked quietly.

"...yeah." Mark confirmed.

Leah frowned.

...

...

...

Entering the hospital room, Leah saw blood on the pillow on the bed, and a man in a robe sat in a chair a couple feet away from it. "I'm truly sorry about Agent Perez." Mark said seriously.

"...she said your name you know." the man spoke with a hoarse voice, "Last thing she was was Detective Hoffman. Why'd she say that? Why'd she say your name?" the man asked.

"I don't know." Mark said.

"No? How did you get out of that building?" the man asked.

"How did you?" Mark asked back.

"_On a gurney with a fucking hole in my throat!_" the man yelled, "Look at you. Couple of scratches and a story about how your arm straps broke? Jigsaw doesn't _make_ mistakes!"

"Is this you theorizing again? Jigsaw's dead." Mark reminded.

Leah wondered what they were arguing about- and then she remembered that this man was Peter Strahm, whom she saw in the news.

"I'm not talking about Jigsaw. Talking about you and your whole crooked department!" the man corrected.

"My department's dead, there's no one left." Mark said.

"Besides _you!_" Strahm yelled.

"...been chasing Jigsaw from the beginning, and I got him. So unless you got something else to say, _back the fuck off_. Read the papers, I saved that little girl. Come on Leah." Mark went for the door.

The eight-year stood still for a moment, then went next to Strahm, "Uhm...sorry about your friend, Mister." she said sincerely, and then followed her uncle out.

* * *

Shit. He didn't know what to do with her.

Mark needed to be sure that the next game was set to go, but taking Leah back to the sitters would be a bad image. Leaving her at their apartment home alone wouldn't end well either.

And there wasn't a possible way for him to take her to the game, too many questions would arise.

Unless he gave her a distraction...

Stopping at the nearest Wal*Mart, he bought Leah a portable Leap Frog, and let her pick out a couple games while he went to buy a crap load of batteries.

"Uncle Mark? Can I get a new coat? Mine's getting too small." Leah had explained as they made their way for the registers.

So, after a detour of grabbing a white faux fur coat, Mark drove them to the location of the Fatal Five's game.

When arriving, Leah followed him down inside, but paid no attention to the monitors where the Fatal Five were at, in the first one. Nor did she notice that model design of each of the rooms the monitors were showing.

They didn't stay very long, after seeing that the game started, the duo went back outside to the car. Leah listened as Mark made a phone call, trying to get a hold of Strahm.

Instead he got directed to Erickson's voicemail. "Uh...yeah this is Detective Hoffman, I needed to discuss something with Agent Strahm but I can't track him down. Could you call back when you're available? It would be greatly appreciated." he hung up.

Writing down Erickson's name on a notepad, Leah looked up from the backseat. "Are we not going home?" she realized.

"No," Mark said, "Not for a while. Why don't you lay down? You have school tomorrow." he reminded.

"Awe..." she turned off her Leap Frog and curled up in the right side of the back seats, her coat wrapped around her.

By then Agent Erickson called back, and Leah was quickly falling asleep as Mark suggesting that Jigsaw had another accomplice, besides a woman named Amanda...

...

...

...

Certain she was fast asleep, Mark acquired Strahm's phone, calling Erickson on it. After hanging up, he returned to where the game was being played.

Leaving Leah in the car, he went in to where the monitors were- seeing that Ashley, Charles, and Luba were dead; he placed Strahm's phone down on the table, after turning it on first.

Seeing that Mallick and Brit made it to the final room, he walked off.

* * *

Getting out of the car again, Mark checked around him to make sure no one was around, then entered the building before him.

Moments later Strahm pulled up in his car, watching him go inside. Peter exited his car and slowly went forward. He saw Leah sleeping in the car, wondering if it was a good thing or not, and then went inside the building as well.

Leah had woken up for a moment, feeling that the car stopped moving again. Her blue eyes were moonlight in the dark, as she saw that her uncle was nowhere to be seen.

She froze though, when she saw a man- Peter Strahm enter through a door outside of the car. She watched him enter, and disappear. Too scared to move, Leah laid back down and closed her eyes.

And it would only be a certain matter of minutes before Peter Strahm would be crushed to death.


	7. Right Now You're Feeling Helpless

School had been very boring the next day.

It had passed all too slowly, and Leah wished three o' clock would come faster.

When it finally did, it only made matters worse when she knew she had to go home with the babysitter and the other kids.

During the ride back, Leah sat quietly while Raegyn and Mary chatted about their day, and Katie was making Deakin laugh.

The sitter, Taylor, noticed that Leah was being quiet, "You alright?" she asked, through the rearview mirror.

Leah nodded, "Uh-huh."

* * *

_"Right now you're feeling helpless."_

The lab tech was analyzing the sound of the Seth Baxter tape, when Perez, Erickson and Hoffman arrived on scene.

"You okay?" Perez asked, seeing that Mark was walking around the room nervously.

_"Right now you're feeling helpless."_

"Yeah, just anxious about that tape." he lied.

"There are some things I can't get still." Perez said. "Like I don't understand Strahm's motivation. I mean we all knew what a hot head he was but, I never noticed any psychotic behavior."

_"Right now you're feeling helpless."_

"You never can really tell who's sick on the inside." Mark suggested. He went over to make some coffee.

_"Right now you're feeling helpless."_

"Hear that? We're getting there." the lab tech said.

"I never really thought of him as being vengeful." Lindsey started again. "All the facts are there, but something doesn't stick right."

"Listen, it's getting closer." the lab tech said.

_"Right now you're feeling helpless."_

"There is an alternative." Erickson said. "Say Strahm _did_ kill Seth Baxter, specifically to set you up as an accomplice to Jigsaw?" he theorized.

"...okay." Mark placed his drink down.

_"Right now you're feeling helpless."_

* * *

Leah couldn't sleep.

Something kept her awake, though she wasn't sure what it was.

Raegyn crawled over to her, "Are you okay Leah? You've been quiet all day." the ten year old said.

Leah nodded.

"Liar. What's wrong?" Raegyn asked.

"...you remember on the news when it showed my uncle, and the other guy? Who had a hole in his throat?" Leah said.

Raegyn nodded, "Peter or something?"

"Yeah...I think he's dead." Leah admitted.

"How do you know?" Raegyn asked.

"I dunno. I saw him last night but...I think he's gone." Leah explained.

Raegyn only stared.

* * *

"There it is!" the lab tech announced.

Mark, Lindsey and Erickson all looked up.

"Right now you're feeling helpless." said Mark's voice loud and clear.

Mark pulled out a knife and slit up Erickson's throat, then splashed Lindsey with his hot drink. He made the lights go out, and grabbed the lab tech as a shield as Lindsey shot her with her gun.

Mark put the girl down, went over and stabbed Lindsey repeatedly.

"Who else knows about me? _Who else knows about me?_" Mark asked.

"...E-everyone." Lindsey managed to say.

"You lie. You fucking _lie_." Mark stabbed her once more and then let her drop.

He went outside to his trunk, where he pulled out a bag...with Peter's hand. Taking it back inside he put his fingerprints all over everything.

Next he grabbed a thing of gasoline and set the entire room on fire.

* * *

Looking through the window, he saw that Taylor was asleep. He went around, pulled the spare key from under the mat, and unlocked the door to her house. He spotted Leah's shoes, and coat; took them and tossed them into the backseat of his car.

Slowly, he went for the bedrooms, where he saw several kids sleeping. Seeing Leah on a blanket on the floor, he knelt down and shook her awake.

Her blue eyes opened slowly. "...Uncle Mark?" she realized.

"Shh. It's time to go." he helped her up.

Leah saw him from the TV screen light, "What's on your face?" she asked, not getting that it was blood.

"Nothing. Come on." he took her hand and led her back to the living room.

Leah looked back at the kids to see Raegyn wake up from the noise. Leah waved goodbye to her, and then disappeared.

Raegyn was too tired to get what had just happened.


	8. What I Know

**Rowan Zoological Institute  
**

Leah hated waiting in the car.

All she could do was watch her uncle enter the building inside.

About thirty seconds later she got out of the car and went inside.

Not knowing where he went.

...

...

...

After walking through a maze of short halls, Mark entered a room where he saw a note on the table in front of the monitors.

As he sat down to read it, he realized it was the note he'd written to Amanda- threatening to tell John the truth about his son's death.

Just moments later the door opened, and Jill Tuck came in; a device in her hand, her finger pushed on a button.

The device literally shocked Mark in his seat until he was unconscious.

Jill went over to a cabinet, pulled out some leather straps and tied them onto Mark's hands on the chair.

She went back, and pulled out an _advanced_ version of the reverse bear trap.

Mark regained consciousness by then.

"John left you five envelopes." Jill said. "The sixth one was for me." she pulled out a picture of him and held it in front of him. "This is John's will."

When loud shrieks of screams came from the monitors, consisting of Pamela Jenkins, her husband William Easton, along with Tara Abbot and her son Brent, the timer on Mark's RBT started to count down.

"Game over." Jill said, before shutting the door on them.

_"No! No! You fucking bitch!"_ Mark muffled. He cried out, and began to bash his hand with the RBT to be free of the straps. When he finished, Mark slipped out his bashed hand out of pain, and the undid the other strap.

He got up and grabbed a scalpel, to try and jam the device. Seeing no luck, he yelled out, ran over, and smashed his head into the glass part of the door.

* * *

When Leah heard loud screams from afar, she started to run towards them. By the time Mark had rammed his face in, Jill took off down the hall as Leah came up, not seeing her.

She gasped at the sight of the _strange device_ on her uncle, and called out his name.

Finally, Mark managed to get it off of his head just as it snapped- coming close to nearly ripping his mouth apart. Leah went over and opened the door to see what happened.

Mark fell to his knees, his cheek nearly ripped off, and yelled out in dear agony.

"Ahhh!" Leah screamed with him. "Uncle Mark?-! What's going on?" she demanded.

"Bitch. That fucking _bitch._" he placed his ripped skin back against his face, and got up.

He went for the door, making Leah step back. He leaned for a second, and then took off towards the left. He grabbed the reverse bear trap along the way.

Following quickly, Leah wanted to cry. Who put that...thing on his face? What the heck _was_ it?

Mark stopped at a shelf, where he placed the RBT on a bucket. As he was grabbing towels for his bashed hand and ripped cheek Leah saw a woman hiding behind a rack of maintenance suits.

The woman had her hands over her mouth, and she shook her head at Leah, motioning for her not to say anything.

Frozen, the eight-year old looked up at her uncle, who was wrapping a towel around his hand, and she looked back at the hiding woman.

Did she do that to her uncle-?

The woman shook her head again, scared for her life.

Leah gulped, deciding not to say anything. Mark put a towel on his cheek, put his arm under the top of the RBT to lift it up. "Come on Leah." he groaned, walking off.

The woman nodded at the child, so Leah started to follow.

Jill tuck put her hands over her heart, thankful the girl didn't say anything.

* * *

_"Uncle Mark, what's going on?"_

He looked at the girl, terrified look on her face. "This wasn't supposed to happen." he said.

"What wasn't?" Leah asked.

Mark grimaced, "Leah. I...I helped Jigsaw." he admitted.

She stopped, "Helped him?" it had to register in her mind. "...you helped him kill all the people?"

Leah started to scream before Mark could explain any further.

"Leah-" he tried to say but her shrieking overpowered him.

_"You kill people! You killed them, you killed them!"_

"Leah!" Mark stopped the car and turned to face her. When he shot his non-damaged hand at her, she only kicked it away. Quickly, Leah opened the far back door and climbed out. _"Leah!"_ he hissed, getting out as well.

"Help me! Help _meee!_" Leah screamed, running down the street. When Mark finally grabbed her she tried to push him off, "Let me go! Don't hurt me!"

"LEAH!" he finally yelled, "Look at me! Why would I hurt you?" he asked.

"You helped Jigsaw! He hurt people!" she cried, tears falling down her face.

"He never hurt anyone." Mark said. "He found ways for the people to hurt themselves." he finally explained.

Leah sniffled, "He didn't kill anyone?"

"No. The people killed themselves."

She looked down. "You never killed anyone?" she asked.

Now Mark stiffened. "...no." he lied.

Leah looked back up at him, and hugged him tightly. "I'm sorry..." she said, rubbing her nose.

"It's alright. You had every right to be scared." he assured. He led her back to the car, and he drove on.

* * *

The little girl was quiet during the rest of the drive, arms wrapped around her legs, thinking about all that just happened.

Mark stopped at a fast food place, to get them a 'midnight' dinner, and he drove off to his 'safe house' he would think of it.

When they arrived, he took out his keys, placed the bloody towel against his cheek again, and grabbed the RBT while Leah took the food bag, and followed him to the plated door, where he unlocked the latch, and opened it.

He let Leah in first, and then shut the door behind him.

* * *

**Maaan I would of freaked out like that too if my uncle said that lmao! Shame, if only Leah told him that Jill was hiding right in front of them...*evil thoughts*...  
**


	9. The Hunt Begins

_"Tonight a house of horrors has been discovered at what used to be known as the Rowan Zoological Institute. The body of Umbrella Health CEO William Easton has been identified as one of the many victims of this crime scene. We have also been informed that there may be as many as seven survivors from this deadly event."_

As Mark was stitching up his mouth and cheek, Leah was walking around the room, eating at the same time.

She was creeped out by the many heads of dolls with red swirls on their cheeks that she came across.

When Mark finished, he found a hammer to smash up his cell phone, and then started a fire. Taking out all of his ID cards, he burned them all- but had a solemn moment when he put in his Homicide ID.

Opening a safe, he pulled out a box containing pictures of the candidates for the next game.

"Who's that?" Leah asked, seeing the black and white photo of a man named Bobby Dagen.

"A liar." Mark said, taking the envelope with the photos.

* * *

IA Matt Gibson didn't look convinced. It took a lot to convince him. He had to see it, to believe it.

And Jill Tuck saying that Jigsaw had an accomplice wasn't satisfying anything.

"He's Detective Mark Hoffman." she added at the end.

Hold up now. That was a whole other matter, saying it was that guy.

"Are you willing to sign a sworn affidavit?" Gibson leaned forward.

"Yes," she said.

"You'll tell me anything, no matter what?" he added.

"Yes. I'll give you evidence and anything else you need. Do we have a deal?" Tuck confirmed.

"Oh yeah. We have a deal." Gibson turned around to wave his partner Rogers, in the room.

* * *

Taylor had awoken from several pairs of little hands shaking her.

Opening her eyes, she saw Raegyn looking at her with fearful expressions. "What's wrong?" she asked groggily.

"Leah's gone." Raegyn said.

"A big guy came in and took her." little Deakin said.

"...was it her uncle?" Taylor asked, straining to keep her dark eyes open.

"I saw blood on his face." Raegyn then said seriously.

That made Taylor shoot up, "Are you sure, Rae?" she asked.

The ten year old nodded.

Taylor got up from the couch and went into the kitchen for her cell phone. She surfed her contacts until she found 'M Hoffman' and pressed call.

It didn't even ring. Automatically it had said the number was disconnected.

"Shit."

"Is Leah okay?" Mary asked, holding her Pooh Bear stuffed doll close.

"Yeah, yeah. She's fine, I'm sure." Taylor didn't sound convincing to herself. _Hoffman HAD been acting a little different lately..._

The babysitter wasn't sure what to do.

* * *

"He's got a niece, where is she?" Gibson asked.

"She was at school today. She goes to a babysitter when Hoffman's working." Rogers said.

"Who is it?" Gibson asked.

"Name's Taylor Frain. She's a Jigsaw survivor." Rogers explained. He gave an address to her house.

"Let's see if she knows anything." Gibson suggested, leaving the IA building.

...

...

...

Arriving at the house, Gibson knocked on the door, hoping she was awake, since there were lights on.

Instead of someone tall, two little figures answered the door. One was a girl, with dark brown hair, and clear brown eyes. The other was a little boy much smaller than her, with blond hair showing a tint of light brown, and pretty blue eyes.

"Are you cops?" the girl asked them.

Gibson knelt down, "Yeah. We are. I'm Matt, what's your name?" he said.

"Raegyn." she introduced.

"Raegyn?" Gibson repeated. "That's a pretty name. Is Taylor here?" he asked.

She nodded, "Go get her Deakin." she said, and the four year old turned and left. "Are you here because of Leah?" Raegyn asked.

Gibson tilted his head, "Yeah. Do you know where she is?"

Raegyn shook her head, "Her uncle took her away." she said.

"Her uncle? He took her, from here?" Gibson asked.

Raegyn nodded. "When I woke up, I saw him waking up Leah. He had blood on his face." she explained.

Gibson stiffened, "Blood? On his face?" he repeated.

Raegyn nodded. "You sure?" Rogers finally asked.

"Yeah. He helped her out of the room, and she waved bye at me, and then they left." she finished.

"What's this?" Taylor appeared at the door, putting her arms on Raegyn's shoulders.

"Miss Frain." he took out his badge, "I'm Matt Gibson this is my partner Rogers. We need to ask you about Mark Hoffman." he explained. "When was the last time you saw him?"

"Yesterday, he came and picked Leah up in the morning. And today, I picked up Leah and the other kids from school." she explained.

Gibson nodded at Raegyn, "She says he came to get Leah tonight. Is this true?"

"I'm gunna say so. He's one of the only few who know where I keep the spare key." Taylor confirmed. "Is he wanted-? Is Leah in danger-?" she asked.

"Don't know yet. Thank you Miss Frain, you all have a good night." Gibson said, going back to the car with Rogers. "Get Jill Tuck to the safe house." he said to Rogers.

"Got it." his partner said.


	10. Hungry Eyes

When Leah watched her uncle knock out a bodyguard, and take a lady, she scooted back when Mark put the lady in the backseat with her.

"Who is that?" she asked quietly.

"Wife of the liar." Mark gruffed, "Don't move." he shut the door, and placed the pig mask back on.

Leah pulled the lady's long hair out of her face, to see her eyes shut. "I'm sorry." she said.

She looked up over the back window to see the man she saw in the photo- Bobby Dagen. He looked in his car, to see it empty. "Joyce?" he called out.

Leah watched her uncle grab him and knock him out, then looked at the lady, realizing that she was Joyce. When Bobby Dagen's body came in next, Leah crawled to the front of the van.

More bodies were coming, and she didn't wanna sit with them.

* * *

Arriving at the set of the next game, Mark had taken Joyce first, since she would be placed the farthest away. "Come on Leah, put these on." he handed her a pair of small gloves.

"Where are we going?" she asked, slipping them on.

"You're gonna help me." Mark stated.

Leah froze, "...like how you helped Jigsaw?"

"Yes." he confirmed.

She gulped, "I don't wanna kill anyone!"

"We're not gonna kill anyone." Mark promised. "Okay?"

After a nod, she followed him inside.

...

...

...

After putting the Dagens, and Bobby's co-workers into their positions for the game, Leah watched her uncle insert a tape into the final TV.

"What now?" Leah asked.

"I'm taking you back to Taylor's." Mark decided.

"Why?" Leah asked with disbelief.

"Listen," Mark knelt down. "I need you to do some things for me, when you're there..."

...

...

...

After the car crash trap, with the racist group, Matt Gibson was listening to the damaged Jigsaw tape, before taking it out.

"What do you think?" Rogers asked, placing the tape in an evidence bag.

"Why?" Gibson asked. "Why this? Why now?"

"You know he likes to put on a show." Rogers answered.

"I think we're missing something, though." Matt said unhappily.

...

...

...

Taylor had been sat on the couch, all of the kids quiet after the IA officers left.

That was when the door was knocking.

"Are they back?" Raegyn asked.

Taylor went for the door, opening it-

And there stood Leah.

"Leah-?"

Quickly, all of the kids scurried over to see the eight-year old, who looked ready to slip into a coma from lack of sleep.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" Taylor asked.

Leah nodded a little, "I'm hungry."

"Okay, okay, come in." Taylor led her in. "How did you get here?"

"My uncle dropped me off." Leah said quietly. "He had to go get ready."

"Get ready for what?" Mary asked.

"For the game." Leah told her seriously.

* * *

"Gibson?"

"Yeah?"

"Hoffman was expecting you." Rogers said.

Matt went over to see the advanced RTB on the floor with blood. "Goddamn." he gagged, seeing the blood words on the mirror.

**'Gibson See For Yourself'**

"Get forensics in here, tell them to haul ass. That needs to be checked for prints." Matt pointed at the Reverse Bear Trap.

"Alright." Rogers walked out.

His phone rang. Gibson pulled it out, "Yeah?"

_"Mr. Gibson?"_

"Yeah, who's this."

_"It's Taylor Frain. Leah Hoffman's babysitter."_

"Did something happen, Miss Frain?" Matt asked.

_"Yeah."_ Taylor said._ "I have Leah."_

"She's with you, right now?" Matt asked.

_"Yes."_

"Keep her there, I'm on my way." Matt hung up, "Hey." he went down to some of the other men. "Bag the other bodies, get 'em to the coroner's office."

"Yes sir." the man said.

* * *

Arriving at the house, Matt exited his car and tapped the door. Taylor quickly opened, "Mr. Gibson." she greeted. "If you could wait just a minute, some of the other girls offered to clean her up."

"Why?" Matt asked.

"She had a lot of grease, in her hair. The kind you find on metal, I think." Taylor explained. "Please come in."

Matt entered the house, where he saw the little boy, Deakin, sat on the living room floor. "He the only boy?"

"Yeah," Taylor smiled. "Hates being with girls everyday. I never watch boys too often."

"Is he here a lot?" Matt asked out of curiosity.

"Yeah...his mother," she said in a whisper. "Has been suicidal. His father's divorcing her in the meanwhile. And he's 'stuck' here." she explained.

"Shame." Gibson said, "Poor kid." his dark eyes switched over to the hall, where he saw the eight-year old with wet dark brown hair, and tired blue eyes. She had put on silk blue pajamas. Upon seeing Matt Gibson, Leah froze.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Hi Leah." Gibson went over to her, held out his hand. "My name is Matt. I work in Internal Affairs."

A spark seemed to fly, "Matt Gibson?" she realized.

"Yeah, how'd you know?" he asked.

Leah looked down and went shy. Matt knelt down, "Leah? You can tell me." he assured.

She looked up, "My uncle said your name." she admitted.

Gibson grimaced, "Do you know where he is?"

Leah held up her hands and shrugged, "No..." she lied.


	11. Blow Me Away

"I'm gonna need to take her down with me to the IA department." Gibson decided.

"What for?" Taylor asked.

"She's our only lead on finding Hoffman." Matt explained. "Is that okay Leah? Car ride?"

She frowned, "Okay." she wasn't a _dog_! 'Car ride'? How old did he think she was, four? Sheesh...

"How long are you keeping her?" Taylor asked.

"Til we get Hoffman. Come on sweetie." Matt grasped Leah's shoulder, leading her for the door.

"Bye Leah." Raegyn waved.

"Bye." Leah waved back. As they exited outside, she tried not to smile.

This was happening exactly the way Mark had said it would.

"Wanna ride shotgun?" Matt offered.

"Yeah." she decided, climbing into the passenger seat.

Matt got in on the other side, and turned his car on. "Ready?"

Leah nodded, putting on her seatbelt. "Good girl." Gibson praised.

"My uncle said it's the law to put your seatbelt on." Leah remembered.

"That's right." Matt said, driving away from Taylor's house. "Your uncle say a lot of things?"

Leah nodded. "Yeah."

"Where were you before you got to your babysitters?" Matt asked her then.

"I dunno." Leah said. "I was in the car."

"You didn't go anywhere? See anything?" Matt asked.

Leah shrugged, "No. I was asleep."

Gibson glanced at the eight-year old. Either she was telling the truth...

Or she was too stubborn to rat out her uncle.

* * *

Arriving at their location, Matt saw that Leah had fallen asleep right in the front seat. She must of been tired as hell.

"Leah." he touched her shoulder. "Sweetie, wake up." he said. But she wouldn't budge.

So Gibson turned his car off, and he remained in his seat, letting Leah sleep.

She woke up slowly about ten minutes later. Her dark brown hair was nearly dry now, after her friends gave her a bath.

"You alright?" Gibson asked. Leah nodded. "Good, it's time to get out." he exited the car, and went over to open her door.

"Where are we?" Leah asked, as she got out of the police car.

"Safe house." Matt told her, pulling something from the backseat. Leah glanced at it, but whatever it was, it was hidden under a rag. "Come on." he led her inside.

"Gibson? Is this the niece?" a dark haired lady, Palmer, with a confused face said upon their entrance.

"Yeah," Matt said, going towards a curtain which served as a door to another room. Leah followed him in. "No, no." he stopped her. "Stay here."

Leah frowned as he disappeared behind the curtain.

She heard him slam something down. _"That's a real...clever design,"_ he spoke. _"Yours or your husbands?"_

_"Everything was him."_ Leah heard a lady say. Who was that?

_"Right, but here's my problem."_ she heard Gibson say. _"That was left for me and _your_ fingerprints were all over it!"_ he scowled. _"When you told me Hoffman had it in for you, you didn't say it was because you tried to _kill_ him!"_

Leah's blue eyes widened then. Was the lady in the other room the one who...?

_"There's a new game going on. Does that surprise you?"_

_"No."_

_"No-? No? You know something? You're-"_

Leah emerged in the room then, and immediately recognized the lady from the Zoological place. She glanced over and saw the advanced reverse bear trap.

Seeing it made Leah gasp in sheer terror—totally blowing her cover.

"What-?" Gibson gaped. "Do you know what that is Leah?" he pointed at the RBT.

Leah shook her head, "No!" she cried. The memory of seeing her uncle's face in the door, with the device on, crying out in agony. Then watching him take it off just as it snapped. Remembering how he sank to the floor screaming was the worse part.

Terrified now, Leah held her head, yelling out of control.

"Leah!" Matt went down to her to calm her, but she was crying by then. "It's okay!" he assured her.

She looked at him. _"She did it."_

"What?" Gibson tilted his head.

Leah pointed over at Jill Tuck. "She did it." she looked at the RBT. "She put that thing on him."

Now Jill looked terrified.

Matt looked at Jill, now pissed. "You're crazy." he told her. "Okay." he ran a hand through his hair. "This is what we're gunna do, crazy." he started. He sat down next to. "Til I catch Mark Hoffman, this is your new home." he pat her leg. "Get comfy." he got back up.

"How do you know he can't find me here?" Jill asked.

"Jill, it's a _safe house_. Safe. House. You get it?" Matt explained. "Leah? Come on sweetie." he led her back through the curtain, into the other room by the door.

"Gibson." the other lady, Palmer, came down the stairs. "This was sent here addressed to Jill." she held up a disk. "Hoffman knows our location." she realized.

"Goddamnit," Matt said. "God_damnit!_" he scowled.


	12. Do You See It?

Gibson pulled out his phone._ "What?"_

"We just had a small explosion here in the junk yard." Rogers told him

_"Is anyone hurt-?" _Matt asked but was cut off quickly._  
_

When another car blew up massively, Rogers nearly fell down. Everyone inside, where the car trap took place, all ran outside.

Giving Mark plenty of time to come out, pull out a body from a body bag, and place himself in the bag.

No one saw...

_"Rogers? You okay?"_ Gibson asked.

"Yeah..." he said.

_"Get out of there,"_ Gibson said. _"You get bomb squad to sweep the yard. Don't touch anything til it's clean."_

"Got it." Rogers hung up.

* * *

Palmer uploaded the disk onto the computer before her. "Play it." Matt ordered, glancing at Leah.

She stepped onto the other side of Palmer as the video started to play. She tried to suppress a smile when she saw her uncle on the screen.

_"Hello Gibson."_ he said. _"Been a long time. What I want is simple. Give me my niece, and Jill Tuck."_ he ordered. _"You're protecting Jill despite the fact that she had direct knowledge throughout...making her responsible for every death."_ Leah saw Matt shake his head a little.

_"I'll make you a deal,"_ Mark offered. _"Give them to me. The game stops, and no one else dies. If not, everyone dies. And you'll be to blame."_ he explained.

Palmer glanced up at Matt.

_"Make your choice. The clock's ticking."_ the video ended.

"He's up to something," Matt realized. He looked at Leah. "He knew I'd get you from Frain's house." he knelt down to her. "Leah, you're keeping stuff from me—" he stopped when Leah shook her head quickly, denying it.

Gibson sighed. "Sweetie listen. Tell me where he is, so we can find him, and he won't hurt anymore people." he explained.

Leah folded her arms. "He doesn't hurt anyone." she said. "The people hurt themselves. I don't know where he is."

Matt blinked. "Are you sure?"

She nodded, "Uncle Mark makes me stay in the car." this was only a _half_ lie.

Gibson nodded, "Okay," he looked at Palmer. "Let's get her and Tuck to the holding cell at the station. Lock it down. No one gets in unless I say so." he explained.

Leah frowned now.

_More_ freaking car rides.

* * *

Now at the IA office, Leah _despised_ the idea that she had to share a cell with the lady who tried to _kill_ her uncle.

Jill was sat on the bed, while Leah was in a red chair, opposite side of the cell.

Eons seemed to pass. Leah watched Jill read a _book._

This was so _boring_ for the eight-year old.

When Jill as about a fourth in her book, Gibson and a black guy Leah didn't recognize came in.

"Do you know this guy?" Matt held up a picture.

Jill got up to inspect it. "I've seen him on TV, but I don't know him."

"You sure?" Matt asked.

"Yes." Jill said.

Now he went to Leah. "Do you know him?"

She took the picture, and recognized him. "Strahm." she realized. "His friend died."

_"How did you get out of that building?"_

_"How did you?"_

_"On a gurney with a fucking hole in my throat! Look at you. Couple of scratches and a story about how your arm straps broke? Jigsaw doesn't make mistakes!"_

_"Is this you theorizing again? Jigsaw's dead."_

_"I'm not talking about Jigsaw. Talking about you and your whole crooked department!"_

_"My department's dead, there's no one left."_

_"Besides you!"_

_"...been chasing Jigsaw from the beginning, and I got him. So unless you got something else to say, back the fuck off. Read the papers, I saved that little girl. Come on Leah."_

_"Uhm...sorry about your friend, Mister."_

"Do you know where he is?" the other guy asked.

"No. Sorry..." Leah said.

"Alright then." Matt rubbed the back of his head when he walked out.

Leah tilted her head. Was that a habit of his?

Out of the blue, she wished she had her Leap Frog.

* * *

"Hoffman just sent an e-mail with an MPEG attachment." Palmer announced. "I'm searching the IP address."

"Can you find it where it came from?" Matt asked.

"I can try." Palmer said.

"Play it." Matt said, like before.

And once again, Mark appeared on-screen.

_"Hello Gibson. Once again we're at a moral crossroads."_ he realized. _"I don't blame you for not giving me Leah and Jill,"_ he said. _"You shouldn't let an old grudge cloud your judgement. As for my niece,"_ he continued. _"She's told you everything she wants to. You won't get her to give anything else."_ he explained.

Matt shook his head, as before.

_"Look to where you're being led."_ Mark reminded. _"Look beyond the crossroad to the clear dawn. Do you see it?"_ the video ended.

Gibson's face changed. "I get it. Let's go." he said to Rogers.

As they left, Palmer sighed. Then with a stern face continued to track the original location of the email.


	13. To The Clear Dawn

After making sure Rogers was still following him on the drive, Matt Gibson had made a phone call to Taylor Frain.

_"Hello."_ she said quietly.

"Hey Miss Frain," Matt said. "It's Matt Gibson."

_"Wonderful,"_ Taylor dripped with sarcasm. _"What do you want?"_

"I need to ask about Leah...does she keep anything from you?" Matt asked. "Would she tell the other kids things she wouldn't tell you?"

_"I wouldn't doubt it."_ Taylor said.

"Can I talk to some of them?" Matt suggested.

_"Seriously-? Oh alright...they'll never sleep tonight anyway."_ Taylor sighed. _"Kids! I'm putting you on speaker."_ she pushed the speaker button. _"You remember the guy who was here earlier?"_ she asked, handing the phone to Raegyn, returning to the kitchen.

_"Who took Leah?"_ Deakin remembered.

_"Is she okay?"_ Katie and Mary asked.

"She's fine," Matt assured. "So...what do you know about Leah's uncle?"

_"He's a cop."_ Mary said.

_"He works a lot."_ Katie added.

_"Leah loves him."_ Raegyn said.

"I'm sure she does." Matt agreed. "Has Leah ever said anything else about him?"

"_No?"_ Katie said.

_"Um..."_ Raegyn said.

"What is it?" Matt asked.

_"She told me that the guy on the news..um...wait..."_ Raegyn said.

"Take your time," Matt said.

_"On the news, it showed her uncle, and another guy who Jigsaw almost killed. I forgot his name."_ Raegyn explained.

_"He had a hole in his throat."_ Mary remembered.

"Peter Strahm?" Matt guessed.

_"Yeah!"_ Raegyn said. _"Him! Leah said she saw him a couple days ago. She said she thought he died after she saw him!"_ she exclaimed.

"Huh..." Matt was stunned. Both Jill and Leah had said no when he showed them Peter's picture.

So Leah had lied-? What else was she keeping from them?

* * *

"There's nothing here." Rogers said.

"Oh yes there is." Matt went over to the angel statue. "Right there."

"...why'd he want us to come here?" Rogers asked.

"For me to remember." Matt realized. "This is where he saved my life. When I was in uniform, I responded to a distress call here. Back when this place was a flophouse for homeless people and junkies."

Rogers listened as Gibson explained how a homeless guy attacked him, and Hoffman came on scene, shooting him right on.

"He didn't know what hit him." Matt was knelt down now. "Yeah he assaulted me but...it didn't have to be a death sentence." he stood up. "I had no choice but to report Hoffman for brutality."

"What happened?" Rogers asked.

"He got a promotion, is what happened." Matt said angrily. "And I got put on island." Rogers nodded in understanding. "A year later I transferred to IA, busted three of his guys...he said he'd get me back, and here we are."

Matt looked around now. "This place was called Crossroads Manufacturing before it closed." he remembered, and then had a thought. "Look beyond the crossroads...to the clear dawn." he repeated Mark's words.

Rogers shook his head. "I don't follow."

"Guy he killed was released from Clear Dawn Psychiatric Hospital when the state shut it down..." Matt told him. "That building's been abandoned for years. That's where the game is being played." he realized.

Rogers nodded as Matt tapped his shoulder. "You get back, you stay with Jill Tuck and the kid." he ordered. "Don't let them out of your sight!" he added with a pointed finger, as they exited the building.

* * *

"Stand over there." Leah ordered.

"What?" Jill asked.

"Go over there, by the door, and look away." Leah instructed.

"Why?"

"I have to use the bathroom." Leah went around the small privacy shield where the toilet lay. "Please?" she begged.

"Fine." Jill got up and went over towards the cell door.

"Face the other way." Leah added.

Scowl on her face, Jill turned away from the eight year old. She frowned now.

Thinking of Leah reminded her of Gideon now. What would he have been like, if he got to be eight years old? Would he by shy? Outgoing? He'd be a lot like John was...smart.

The night they lost their son flashed in Jill's mind, making her grip the bars of the cell.

"You can look now." Leah said, after flushing. "Thanks." she told her, hopping back on the red chair.

Jill turned back, and she saw that she was crying. "What's wrong?" Leah asked.

"Nothing...I'm fine." Jill told her, walking back and sitting on the bed quietly.


	14. Only The Strongest Will Survive

**Warning: gory stuff this chapter**

Deakin, Mary, and Katie, had finally managed to fall asleep, but Raegyn wasn't. She sat on the couch, Deakin's head in her lap, sleeping peacefully. As she stroke her hand through his hair, Taylor was making a drink from the kitchen.

"You wanna stay home tomorrow?" she asked Raegyn. "You guys had a hell of a night. You can skip school tomorrow."

"Okay..." Raegyn said quietly.

"Leah will be fine, okay sweetie?" Taylor told her. "Before you know it, she'll come running back babbling about her uncle."

"Like always." Raegyn said with a grin.

* * *

When Rogers returned, Leah had fell asleep in the red chair. She didn't wake up for a while, as Jill sat quietly and Rogers paced back and forth across the room.

Leah did shift when she heard a phone ring. "Rogers." she heard him answer.

Then he stopped walking.

Something was wrong.

"Yeah." he said.

Jill went over and gripped the bars. "What?" she said. "What happened?"

Rogers returned to walking. "Gibson found Hoffman's location." he told her.

Leah jumped up now. "The game isn't over." Rogers told them.

Jill looked away, at Leah, then to the ground.

Leah gulped now. They found him? No...they didn't.

They thought they did. Uncle Mark wasn't far, he was actually _close_. They'd _never_ find him.

Never would they suspect that he would find a way to sneak in the IA station.

She tried not to smile.

* * *

Back at the junkyard, Matt and two officers kicked the secret door open in the bathroom, which led to a long, dark hall. With a pistol and flashlight, Matt led the way down.

Seeing someone sat in a chair, covered in a red blanket, guns were raised. "Hoffman, freeze!" Matt yelled. "I want you to put your hands up slowly." he ordered.

No movement.

They went up, and Matt kicked the body down to reveal it to be a _dead_ one.

One of the bodies of the junk yard trap from earlier.

Matt glanced at the monitors to his right, then to the photos above it.

Then he saw a replica of the angel statue from before. His mouth dropped open, seeing that the monitors were viewing the entire junkyard, inside and out.

"What is this, sir?" one of the officers asked.

"Hoffman got into the station's security system." Matt realized. "He's been watching us the whole time. Oh, my God." he said.

Taking out his phone, he called the station, where Palmer answered.

"Listen, you get every available officer back to the station." Matt ordered.

_"I'm sorry, sir?"_ Palmer said.

"Right now!" Matt yelled. Hearing a noise from behind, he and the officers saw a gun turret come up from the floor.

When it started shooting, Matt got sent back into the monitors, destroying them.

Now covered in blood and bullets, Matt Gibson fell to the floor, dead.

* * *

The coroner unzipped the last body bag, which then he saw it wasn't a dead person, but _Mark Hoffman_.

Mark stuck a knife in the guy's throat, closing his eyes as the blood spattered on him. Getting up he yanked the knife out as the guy hit the floor, now wiping his eyes.

At the door, he saw someone coming. Slipping over to the side, the man entered and gasped, "What-?" but Mark pinned his mouth and stuck his throat with the knife.

Leaving the coroner's office, Hoffman made his way down the hall, knife ready to go. Reaching the end of the hall, he quietly opened the door towards the a man unlocking the door to the evidence room.

Grabbing him from behind, Mark stuck his throat like the others.

Nearly there now, he could hear Palmer. "Gibson? Gibson?" she said into the phone.

He grabbed her then, and she struggled, making him drop the knife. Palmer tried to be smart by biting his arm and smacking his face with her flailing hands. But Mark put a hand over her mouth, and then snapped her neck.

Looking through the metal door, he saw a man in the first room, looking into the next room, where he saw Rogers, and Jill. Where was Leah-? Oh...he couldn't see her at this height. She wasn't tall enough.

Mark looked back at Palmer, idea devising.

* * *

Leah was sat in the red chair again, kicking her feet up and down like any bored kid would do. Jill was the one walking back and forth now, hands under her chin. Rogers was leaning against the two way mirror, bored look on his face.

When they heard a sudden _**thud**_ from the room behind, Rogers looked up as Jill stopped abruptly. Even Leah stopped with her legs and turned around to face Rogers.

"What was that?" Jill asked, trying to see past.

She started to scoot back. "Someone's out there." she realized.

Leah got up and gripped the cell bars. Just as Rogers turned to face the mirror, something pierced through, breaking the window and into his eye.

A bullet.

Leah and Jill both screamed as Rogers hit the cell. Blood splattered on both of them.

Jill ducked down quickly, bracing herself. Leah stumbled back from the bars, and looked directly ahead.

Shock ran through her entire body-

"Oh my God, _no!_" Jill screamed.

Leah gasped. "Uncle Mark!" fear started to mix in with her shock. He'd just shot someone in front of her-!

"Help me!" Jill cried. _"Help me!"_

Mark put the gun down, heading for the door that led to the cell.

"Help me! No!" Jill said again. Leah was facing forwards, so Jill grabbed the nail filer on the table. She held it behind her and leaned against the wall.

The door opened, and Mark appeared, succumbed smile plastering his face. Leah jumped up and down from excitement, hands gripped on the bars again. She instantly forgot that he'd just killed someone in front of her.

"I've been looking for you." he said, tilting his head.

He was looking at Jill, so he meant that for her. Leah grinned still anyways. Mark nabbed the keys from Rogers' waist, and unlocked the cell door.

Leah wanted to hug the guy more than anything, but she knew he had unfinished business with Jill. When he entered the cell, he ruffled her head for a second, then walked towards Jill.

He grabbed the side of her head, and she painfully looked away. "How do I look?" he asked, leaning towards her, in hopes that she would see the damage she caused him.

When he got so close that they could touch, Jill pulled the nail filer from behind her and rammed it into the side of his neck.

"Oh!" Mark groaned, leaning back. Jill pushed away and ran for the door.

"Uncle Mark!" Leah gasped, watching Jill escape. "Hey! Get back here!" she exited the cell and chased after Jill.

Mark pulled the nail filer out. "Bitch!" he spat angrily, dropping it to the floor. He turned around and left the cell, also giving chase.


	15. Send The Pain Below

**Warning: more gory stuff...**

"Help me!" Jill yelled, trying to open a double door that was locked. Seeing that Leah was nearly on her, she turned and ran ahead through the long hall.

"No!" Leah screeched. When she caught up she grabbed Jill's leg, making her trip.

"Stop!" Jill said. She got up and grabbed Leah by the shoulders tightly. Without thinking, Jill rammed her forwards, and shoved her hard against the wall.

_"Ow!"_ Leah fell to her knees, holding her wounded head. "Ow!" she started to cry.

Jill ran into the unlocked evidence room to hide, leaving the lights off.

Mark was walking down the same hall, and stopped when he heard crying. _Leah._

Running now, he spotted her by the wall, sank to the floor, hands on her head. "Shit!" he went down to her. "Leah?"

She looked up at him, blue eyes filled with tears. "She pushed me...! My head!" she sobbed.

That was all Mark needed to hear. _She pushed me._

This bitch was going to get it now.

He looked towards the evidence room, then back to Leah. "Stay here. I'll be back." he said in a sinister sneer.

Leah nodded, watching him get up and enter the room, turning the lights on.

Deciding not to listen, she got up and went for the door.

That was when she finally noticed the dead body near the door.

She gasped, stepping back. "Oh! Ew!" she said. Did her uncle kill him too-? Oh no...

Leah stood at the door, watching her uncle search for Jill. When he entered the left part of the evidence room, he immediately found her crouched on the floor.

After hearing a kick, Leah saw her uncle drag Jill back in the main room. He went over to grab a chair that had straps...it could have been the same one from the Zoological Institute.

Jill managed to barely stand up when Mark grabbed her and bashed her head on the table.

"You."

_Bash. _

Leah gasped.

"Fucking."

_Bash. _

Leah covered her mouth.

"Cunt!"

_Bash. _

Leah winced.

Pulling her over his shoulders, Mark carried Jill to the chair and set her in. He quickly strapped in her hands.

Leah knew exactly what he was going to do.

She followed him to the shelves in the back. Mark paused, and gripped the advanced Reverse Bear Trap.

"Uncle Mark," Leah stopped him.

He looked down at her. "That one." she pointed.

It looked _bigger_...and _scarier._..

Seeing the original Reverse Bear Trap, the one that was used on Amanda Young, a grin spread on Mark's face. He grabbed it and brought it back.

Leah watched as he put it over Jill's face, inserting the metal mouthpiece and locking the entire device. Right as he set the timer, Jill's eyes flashed open.

Leah's mouth dropped. Standing by the door again, Mark joined her. "Don't look." he told her.

Nodding, she buried her face in his waist. Remembering when the RTB was on Mark from before, he managed to get it off before it ripped his face open...and then seeing it again at Jill's safe house.

Now Jill had the device on...and wasn't able to get it off.

Hearing Jill shake and cry in her seat, it only made panic rise in the little girl.

After about a minute, she heard a loud crunch...and no more shaking and crying.

Jill Tuck was dead.

"Game over." Mark said.

* * *

After hot wiring a stolen car, Leah sat in the back, arms wrapped around her legs. Rogers' blood had now dried on her face, and she could feel it caked there. Her dark brunette hair giving her a Grudge look.

"Uncle Mark?" she managed just above a whisper.

"Yeah?" he said back.

"What's gonna happen?" she asked him.

"What's gonna happen...we're gonna go away." he told her.

"To jail?"

"No, no...run away, so no one can find us." he corrected.

Leah frowned. "I'm scared."

"I know...and I'm sorry. I wish you didn't have to see all of that." Mark admitted.

"It's okay." Leah said. She felt her eyes forcing shut, but she fought sleep. Not for long, she found herself dozing off.

She jolted awake when the car came to a stop. Looking out, she saw that they were at the safe house.

Climbing out of the car, Leah followed Mark inside.

* * *

_"Over the last two hours, it seems our entire city has been shaken to its core. In addition to the nine police employees killed tonight,"_

Taylor and Raegyn were eyes wide at the TV. "Holy shit." Taylor said.

_"Jill Tuck, the wife of serial killer John Kramer, has been found dead."_

"Son of a..." Taylor cut off.

"Jigsaw's wife?" Raegyn realized.

_"Citizens are being advised to report any activity, even remotely suspicious at this time as blockades are being set up at major intersections within a thirty mile radius."_

"Guess we're stuck in the city." Taylor joked.

_"-surrounding what will be considered the largest attack on this city's police department in our history."_

"I hope Leah's okay." Raegyn said.

"Me too hun, me too." Taylor agreed.

* * *

"Uncle Mark, can I take the doll?"

"Huh?" he spotted the Jigsaw doll sat up on one of the tables. Damn...it was nearly as big as Leah. "Yeah, go ahead." he said, continuing to spread gasoline everywhere.

Leah grabbed the doll and went back to the TV, as the news lady reported Jill's death.

When Mark set fire to the place, he grabbed his black bag, and took Leah's hand. They quickly made it outside, and walked away casually.

As an explosion rang from the safe house, Leah stumbled from the aftermath. "Whoa!"

"Come on," Mark urged her. When she finally caught up, two figures came from the right, one jabbing Mark's chest with a pole, then his face.

Leah gasped, dropping the doll.

Mark grabbed the guy, but the second one from behind grabbed him as a third man walked up.

They all wore pig masks.

The third man stuck a needle in Mark's neck, the same genital area where Jill rammed the nail filer.

"No!" Leah grabbed the guy closest to her, and kicked his legs. "Leave him alone!"

One of the two first guys grabbed Leah and threw her to the ground, her head smacking the dirt.

Ouch...like she needed _another_ head slam!

Vision fading now, Leah saw the third man remove his mask. She couldn't see his face...but the fire from behind made his hair look blond.

"What the fuck?" Mark moaned. As if he then made several realizations, he reached his arm out to grab him, but the man moved him back with his cane.

Cane...?

Eyes finally closing yet again, Leah had no choice but to let the darkness welcome her.


	16. This Game Is Over

Two men were dragging a body down the moldy dark hallway. "I hate deadweight." one said.

"Suck it up." the other said. "Ugh," he took his mask off. "It's fucking humid down here!"

"Who needs to suck it up now?" the first one asked, taking his mask off as well.

"Brad, Ryan, enough." Lawrence Gordon said from behind them. "Get him in the room."

The guys pulled Mark into the old bathroom, all the way to the back, chaining his foot. Ryan saw the dead corpse sat up against the pipes.

"Jesus," Ryan said. "Who was that guy?"

"His name was Adam..." Lawrence said from outside the bathroom. He didn't enter...not yet.

Brad noticed two other bodies as well. "Damn."

"We're done." Ryan said, making sure Mark's chain was secure.

"Thank you, gentlemen." Lawrence told them.

"What about the kid?" Brad asked. "You're not gonna lock her up too, are you?"

"She did help kill Jill...in a way." Ryan reminded.

Lawrence smiled. "Leah is exactly where she needs to be." he told them.

* * *

"This is a massacre." one police officer spoke.

"And she survived?" a few of them saw that Leah was sat on a bench in the police department.

She stared at the ground, ignoring the throbbing pain from her head. Blood was everywhere on her, from her head. It soaked her hair, her face, and her arms.

An officer medic finally went up to her, "Are you okay, sweetie?" she asked her.

"Where's my Uncle Mark?" Leah cried quietly. "Where did he go?"

"...I don't know." the medic said honestly. "Can I get a look at you?"

Leah sat up straight, staring at the medic. "I'm okay."

"Let's see." the medic brushed away her bloodied hair. "You have pretty eyes." she told her.

Leah managed a fake smile. "Does your head hurt?" the medic asked. "Most of the blood is on your head." she told her.

"Yeah, it hurts." Leah said coldly. "Am I going to the hospital?" she asked.

"Yes, a doctor needs to look at your head. Make sure you didn't get a concussion or anything." the medic explained. "Okay? I'll take you out to the ambulance."

Helping her up, Leah was led outside, where the ambulance was waiting. After getting in the back and sitting down again, Leah sighed.

Where was Uncle Mark?

* * *

Mark Hoffman woke up in the dark.

What the fuck?

That was when the lights came on, quickly.

Blinded for a moment, Mark turned to see he was chained by the foot. He yanked and yanked, but nothing happened.

After Lawrence flipped the switch, he stared over at Mark for a moment, and then walked with his cane towards him.

Mark spotted the hack saw on the floor, and attempted to grab it. Lawrence moved it back with his cane, and then picked it up.

As he held it to his face, he seemed to remember when he had removed his own foot with the hack saw, so long ago.

He smiled then. "I don't think so," he told Mark. He turned around and threw the saw across the room, watching it land on the ground outside of the bathroom.

He looked back at Mark now. "What do you think you're doing?" Mark asked.

Lawrence turned to leave then. "What the fuck do you think you're doing? Huh?" Mark repeated. "You can't fucking do this to me!" he yelled.

Dr. Gordon continued walking, stopping a moment to see his decapitated foot on the opposite side of Mark.

Lawrence reached the door then, flipping the light off, and then faced Mark.

"No!" Mark yelled. "You can't fucking do this to me! Fuck you! NO!" he rampaged.

"Game over." Lawrence said, using one arm to shut the bathroom door, leaving Mark alone in the dark.

_"NO!"_ he heard Mark. _"NO! NO!"_

* * *

Just as Leah reached the hospital, she saw a plastic evidence bag in the back of the ambulance. Before they left the police station, before one of the medics boarded on with Leah, she grabbed the bag and stuffed it under her shirt.

Exiting the ambulance, Leah was led inside the ER, where a sudden burst came from the double doors behind them.

Leah and a nurse stepped aside as a bed rolled down past them. "It's all my fault!" a man yelled from the bed. "I did it wrong! Joyce...! No! _Joyce!_"

Was that Bobby Dagen?

Leah took off after them, holding herself to keep the bag from falling. When they stopped moving Bobby's bed, the doctor from the ER went up to him.

"Don't worry Bobby, everything will be just fine." the doctor assured. "Take him down," he ordered the nurses.

He looked down at Leah, as her nurse finally caught up. "Doctor, she's one of the survivors from the police employee murders." she told him.

"Oh, right. I was told to take a look at your head." the doctor remembered. "Come with me, okay?"

Leah followed him down the hall. "What's your name?" he asked.

"Leah...Leah Hoffman." she introduced with a cough.

The doctor was walking with a cane.

He looked familiar...

"Leah? That's a pretty name. You can call me Dr. Gordon, okay?" he introduced back.

He led her into a room. "I had just gotten in when they told me you were coming, so let me go grab my things and I'll come check on you, alright?" he explained.

"Okay." Leah climbed up on the counter, watching the mysteriously familiar doctor walk out with his cane.

Making sure he was long gone, and that no one else was coming in, Leah took the plastic evidence bag from under her shirt.

Ripping it open, she took out the object inside, and held it out, and all she could think of was Uncle Mark.

_"Jigsaw wouldn't take you Leah. He doesn't take kids. He only takes bad people. Bad people who escaped justice. Who take their lives for granted."_

_"Don't take your life for granted, Leah. Appreciate it."_

_"Been chasing Jigsaw from the beginning, and I got him. So unless you got something else to say, back the fuck off. Read the papers, I saved that little girl. Come on Leah."_

_"Why don't you lay down? You have school tomorrow."_

_"Shh. It's time to go."_

_"Leah. I...I helped Jigsaw."_

_"Listen, I need you to do some things for me, when you're there..."_

_"What's gonna happen...we're gonna go away...run away, so no one can find us."_

Leah's face changed. Looking up for a moment, she held the stolen evidence tight in her hands, and then looked back down at it.

Then slowly, she put the pig mask on over her face.


End file.
